Crazy Highway Pitches

[malabari]

This is the case with every highway merge in this area - 495 intersection with Rte 3, 95 intersection with 3 etc. I think it would also make sense to drop the main highway by a lane so that the merging traffic can stay segregated for a while. For example, where Rte 3 leaves 495, make 495 2 lanes till the merge from 3 enters back.

 

[Equilibria]

This is the case with every highway merge in this area - 495 intersection with Rte 3, 95 intersection with 3 etc. I think it would also make sense to drop the main highway by a lane so that the merging traffic can stay segregated for a while. For example, where Rte 3 leaves 495, make 495 2 lanes till the merge from 3 enters back.

MassDOT has restriped to implement this at several interchanges. Weston springs most immediately to mind.

 

[dhawkins]

Do you think it's time to extend 290/190 into New Hampshire to relieve 495 North traffic? Or even Rt 84 for that matter? A lot of Town forest would fall victim to such a plan but 495 it is a parking lot these days.

maps
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1I3tTUzHvkdRAoQlVtLmJvncCtl6gJpw&usp=sharing

 

[The EGE]

It will never, ever be the time to build highway expansions to support exurban sprawl.

 

[themissinglink]

Do you think it's time to extend 290/190 into New Hampshire to relieve 495 North traffic? Or even Rt 84 for that matter? A lot of Town forest would fall victim to such a plan but 495 it is a parking lot these days.

A northern extension of I-84 to Route 2 was seriously considered for decades, from the 1960's until at least the 1980's. Route 49 was constructed as part of this never-realized highway; 49 would've received another carriageway and complete grade separation if the plans had gone forward. Had the highway been built, it would've been known as the "Podunk Pike".

This is a snippet from the Holyoke Transcript-Telegram about the Podunk Pike, dated June 14, 1980. By this time I don't think an Interstate highway extension was still in the cards, only an extension of the existing two-lane highway.

This small excerpt from the North Adams Transcript is from July 18, 1968. It's funny to see the optimistic predictions of the highway being completed by 1973.

Both the Podunk Pike and the I-190 extension are shown on this ridiculous 1969 map of planned highways. The image is taken from the February 21, 1969 issue of the Boston Globe.

 

[Charlie_mta]

It will never, ever be the time to build highway expansions to support exurban sprawl.

I fully agree. Massachusetts doesn't need ugly suburbs, traffic, and auto-oriented sprawl from horizon to horizon. Transit (bus or rail), and facilities for active transportation, are the answer, not more sprawl-inducing highway lanes.

 

[malabari]

Wasnt there a blurb about generally being unconcerned about highway expansions if the intent was to support smoother intestate commerce? Its not just this piece, but traffic from northern New England that goes down all the way to Washington DC area currently has to flow through a bunch of largish cities - while there is capacity in the highway system outside of these urban centers. This includes cities on 495 (Lawrence, Lowell, ..), Worcester, Hartford.

A far more crazier pitch would be a highway from Fishkill NY to Manchester NH - through only the rural parts of all states. The good thing is that this will NOT most probably result in new suburbs, the geometry doesnt make it easier to get to most nearby urban centers just using this highway - there are other highways for this purpose. This would relieve traffic on 495, 290, and 84. There is no painless way to drive through Connecticut.

Or build cheaper, faster railways - which is only something Third World countries can do

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

Wasnt there a blurb about generally being unconcerned about highway expansions if the intent was to support smoother intestate commerce? Its not just this piece, but traffic from northern New England that goes down all the way to Washington DC area currently has to flow through a bunch of largish cities - while there is capacity in the highway system outside of these urban centers. This includes cities on 495 (Lawrence, Lowell, ..), Worcester, Hartford.

The state's already been smart about this by supporting CSX's and Norfolk Southern's intermodal rail franchises with grant money. It's a massive reduction in big rig traffic to have double-stacked cube trains running 100+ cars to terminals like Worcester and Ayer, especially on journeys >250 miles when trucker work hours regulations start dramatically increasing the costs of trucking. Rail absolutely slays trucks in cost efficiency for long cross-country/region trips, and we've just in the last 15-20 years seen the Eastern Seaboard freight rail system really get optimized to take advantage of that efficiency through billions of dollars in investment. The Pike has seen a large reduction in big rig traffic through the Berkshires and Central MA because of CSX-Worcester shortening truck trips that used to originate in Albany...enough traffic reduction that people are no longer talking about expanding the Pike between I-84 to I-291 to 6 lanes. CSX's acquisition of Pan Am expanding that intermodal franchise to Maine should allow for similar big rig reductions in northeastern MA, as Greater Portland would no longer need to be fed by trucking shifts out of Worcester and 495.

About the only highway that needs some "interstate commerce"-related expansion is MA/RI 146 on the Millbury-Sutton and North Smithfield turnpike sections, as that's the main trucking route between Worcester/Ayer and Greater Providence (which is too close for an intermodal rail terminal of its own to really pay off, as RI is easily coverable in a single trucker shift). That really needs to be a contiguous 55 MPH expressway to optimize the flow of goods throughout the region. The state also needs to do some trucking vertical clearance improvements around CSX West Springfield Yard so the currently lackadaisical intermodal pad at that major railyard can start pumping cube volumes comparable to Worcester. It would get a lot of big rig traffic off the congestion-prone MA 146 to I-84 stretch of Pike as well as I-84 in Eastern Connecticut where the constantly rolling hills maim truck speeds (and everybody else's) with lots of downshifting. I-91 is the much flatter and more efficient route for serving Greater Hartford.

 

[Stlin]

About the only highway that needs some "interstate commerce"-related expansion is MA/RI 146 on the Millbury-Sutton and North Smithfield turnpike sections, as that's the main trucking route between Worcester/Ayer and Greater Providence (which is too close for an intermodal rail terminal of its own to really pay off, as RI is easily coverable in a single trucker shift). That really needs to be a contiguous 55 MPH expressway to optimize the flow of goods throughout the region.

I'd add a major reconstruction of the 146/90 interchange. Every movement through that funnels through a signalized junction, which isn't great. Given that RI is currently in the middle of curing its section, with construction scheduled to be done by 2026 MassDOT really should get its act together on the Millbury Sutton segment. There is a new 146 Corridor Vision Study on MassDOTs site (AFAIK it appeared in June), which I'm hopeful will shed some updated light on this.

I would generally agree we don't need more highway lane miles, but there's definitely more places in the state that do need "capacity improvements" where improvements to interchanges and the like can improve commerce by reducing congestion - Concord Rotary, I93/95 interchange, the 90/95 complex come to mind.

 

[malabari]

Another "always busy" section, sometimes even at 1 AM is I90 between I290 and I84.

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

Another "always busy" section, sometimes even at 1 AM is I90 between I290 and I84.

That's where moving more rail-to-truck transloads to West Springfield with yard and truck access upgrades can help lots. The big rigs pound the shit out of the Pike between 146-290-84 for reaching Greater Hartford, and the hills from Millbury-Sturbridge really clobber speeds in the right two lanes from all the truck downshifting...which then causes a car scramble to get in the left lane and pass. Borks the whole works. If the cube trucks used I-91 out of West Springfield as a more-or-less exclusive route to CT it wouldn't be nearly so constipated.

 

[themissinglink]

I'd add a major reconstruction of the 146/90 interchange. Every movement through that funnels through a signalized junction, which isn't great. Given that RI is currently in the middle of curing its section, with construction scheduled to be done by 2026 MassDOT really should get its act together on the Millbury Sutton segment. There is a new 146 Corridor Vision Study on MassDOTs site (AFAIK it appeared in June), which I'm hopeful will shed some updated light on this.

I'd be very surprised to see a reconstruction of the 146/90 interchange anytime soon. 146/90 is the newest interchange on the Pike, built between 1996 and 1999. MassDOT probably won't be interested in replacing an interchange that was built (relatively) recently.

 

[kingofsheeba]

The discussion about Alewife lately in the Development Projects section got me to thinking about the oversized Route 2 from Route 128 to Alewife. It is an 8-lane expressway dumping onto a 4 lane parkway, with extreme traffic gridlock along Alewife Brook Parkway in both directions much of the day. The Route 2 expressway was built in the mid to late 60s in anticipation of it being extended as an expressway through North Cambridge, connecting to the Inner Belt. Of course none of that was built, so now we have an 8-lane Route 2 ending at Alewife.

My solution: Downsize the Route 2 expressway through Arlington and Lexington to 2 lanes each direction, and re-purpose the open space thus created as parkland with paved bike and pedestrian trails. The trails would run from the Alewife RL station all the way to Rte 128 along Route 2, and hopefully extended all the way to Concord. Even with just 2 lanes each way, Route 2 from Rte 128 to Alewife would still function fine in my opinion, and I think the traffic congestion along Fresh Pond Parkway would be significantly reduced. Plus we would get a new regional trail.

Bump.

Yeah, I think the best thing to do is to build a runner between Alewife that runs underneath Fresh Pond all the way to Soldiers Field is probably a better option. I would take it a step further and build a tunnel from Route 3 Burlington to Alewife that runs concurrent with an underground RLX. With on/off ramps for local traffic only.

Reducing lanes T that spot will only cause more traffic. I can see removing an extra lane for buses but sending traffic through Fresh Pond without any traffic mitigation plan for that stretch feels crazy to me. Do we want more of a traffic headache? Because that’s how you get more traffic nightmares.

 

[kdmc]

Bump.

Yeah, I think the best thing to do is to build a runner between Alewife that runs underneath Fresh Pond all the way to Soldiers Field is probably a better option. I would take it a step further and build a tunnel from Route 3 Burlington to Alewife that runs concurrent with an underground RLX. With on/off ramps for local traffic only.

Reducing lanes T that spot will only cause more traffic. I can see removing an extra lane for buses but sending traffic through Fresh Pond without any traffic mitigation plan for that stretch feels crazy to me. Do we want more of a traffic headache? Because that’s how you get more traffic nightmares.

Wait, you want to spend SEVERAL BILLION dollars tunneling under Cambridge so that people can... drive their cars into Boston more easily? I thought we were past this on aB, but, this is straight up one more lane bro territory.

I drive through Concord Turnpike / Alewife Brook Parkway interchange a couple times a week, often at rush hour. It's not pretty but I've never seen it truly gridlock. Definitely not worth a Big Dig worth of investment to fix, especially when RLX + bus lanes + bike lanes would improve the situation at a much lower cost to both MA and the environment.

 

[Stlin]

Wait, you want to spend SEVERAL BILLION dollars tunneling under Cambridge so that people can... drive their cars into Boston more easily? I thought we were past this on aB, but, this is straight up one more lane bro territory.

I drive through Concord Turnpike / Alewife Brook Parkway interchange a couple times a week, often at rush hour. It's not pretty but I've never seen it truly gridlock. Definitely not worth a Big Dig worth of investment to fix, especially when RLX + bus lanes + bike lanes would improve the situation at a much lower cost to both MA and the environment.

Unfortunately RLX is probably a generation away, but I agree that the preferred car sink here isn't a tunnel under Mt Auburn. In the interim, if you don't want to deal with Fresh Pond, the interim solution should absolutely be Alewife Park n Ride. (At the moment I do strongly believe the redev effort should still include a large amount of MBTA parking)

That said, I do think RT2 needs a diet between 95 and Alewife, especially the 4 lane Belmont segment. It's got 2 lanes on either end, at a minimum take it down to 3 here - and it has 2 lane frontage roads, of which at least the one on the Belmont side can be largely eliminated with new ramp connections.

 

[Charlie_mta]

Bump.

Yeah, I think the best thing to do is to build a runner between Alewife that runs underneath Fresh Pond all the way to Soldiers Field is probably a better option. I would take it a step further and build a tunnel from Route 3 Burlington to Alewife that runs concurrent with an underground RLX. With on/off ramps for local traffic only.

Reducing lanes T that spot will only cause more traffic. I can see removing an extra lane for buses but sending traffic through Fresh Pond without any traffic mitigation plan for that stretch feels crazy to me. Do we want more of a traffic headache? Because that’s how you get more traffic nightmares.

I'm guessing $20 billion to build this, in today's inflated costs. Then the new tunnel would be clogged up with traffic anyway. Better to spend that money on GLX to Porter, the Red-Blue Connector, and BLX to Lynn. Also build a direct bus lane connector from Alewife station to the Concord Turnpike west bound, with no traffic lights on it, even if it requires a new elevated busway in that short stretch.

 

[ritchiew]

I'm guessing $20 billion to build this, in today's inflated costs. Then the new tunnel would be clogged up with traffic anyway. Better to spend that money on GLX to Porter, the Red-Blue Connector, and BLX to Lynn. Also build a direct bus lane connector from Alewife station to the Concord Turnpike west bound, with no traffic lights on it, even if it requires a new elevated busway in that short stretch.

All of this, and I'd add Regional Rail frequencies on the Fitchburg.

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

Also build a direct bus lane connector from Alewife station to the Concord Turnpike west bound, with no traffic lights on it, even if it requires a new elevated busway in that short stretch.

Alewife gets emptied of literally all of its buses if RLX-Arlington Heights gets built, with Arlington Center and Arlington Heights assuming terminal status for those routes. So there's limited need for an expensively perfect busway to Route 2, because Alewife was never supposed to be a major bus terminal to begin with and due diligence on the Arlington extension solves that traffic issue.

I mean, in the interim they should be looking at any reasonable-cost option for decrapifying the 2/16 interchange to help the buses out...but there's only one perma-fix and that's RLX.

 

[kingofsheeba]

All of this, and I'd add Regional Rail frequencies on the Fitchburg.

Please don’t tempt me with a good time.

Wait, you want to spend SEVERAL BILLION dollars tunneling under Cambridge so that people can... drive their cars into Boston more easily? I thought we were past this on aB, but, this is straight up one more lane bro territory.

I drive through Concord Turnpike / Alewife Brook Parkway interchange a couple times a week, often at rush hour. It's not pretty but I've never seen it truly gridlock. Definitely not worth a Big Dig worth of investment to fix, especially when RLX + bus lanes + bike lanes would improve the situation at a much lower cost to both MA and the environment.

Unfortunately, Boston is one of the rare cases of One More Lane Bro, and I think that we can do both. This foolishness that we can’t walk and chew gum at the same time (e.g., Highway AND RLX) is what kills us. Boston is gridlocked and I’ve been in that Fresh Pond traffic. I don’t know what you see but I see a hellscape. It took me ONE FVCKING HOUR to get from the old Faces to the Alewife off ramp. 6:30 p.m. Summer. No rhyme or reason.

One More Lane Bro is apt when talking about Atlanta. Because Atlanta probably could use one less lane of vehicle traffic and MARTA extension plan. We probably rely on our cars up here a lot more than we’d like to admit. The amount of gridlock because of a lack of Transit and Infrastructure is appalling and I can’t keep leaving an hour early to get into Boston for a job that starts two hours later.

Again, we are an outlier in the One More Lane, but I urge planners to extend the RL up to Middlesex Community College in Bedford. This is my hill to die on and I’ll be damned if I have to hear the end of this from Urban Elitist bros.

 

[ritchiew]

Please don’t tempt me with a good time.

Unfortunately, Boston is one of the rare cases of One More Lane Bro, and I think that we can do both. This foolishness that we can’t walk and chew gum at the same time (e.g., Highway AND RLX) is what kills us. Boston is gridlocked and I’ve been in that Fresh Pond traffic. I don’t know what you see but I see a hellscape. It took me ONE FVCKING HOUR to get from the old Faces to the Alewife off ramp. 6:30 p.m. Summer. No rhyme or reason.

One More Lane Bro is apt when talking about Atlanta. Because Atlanta probably could use one less lane of vehicle traffic and MARTA extension plan. We probably rely on our cars up here a lot more than we’d like to admit. The amount of gridlock because of a lack of Transit and Infrastructure is appalling and I can’t keep leaving an hour early to get into Boston for a job that starts two hours later.

Again, we are an outlier in the One More Lane, but I urge planners to extend the RL up to Middlesex Community College in Bedford. This is my hill to die on and I’ll be damned if I have to hear the end of this from Urban Elitist bros.

Adding more lanes does not fix traffic. It adds more capacity for cars, which lets more people drive, which almost immediately brings back the same level of congestion. This has been known since the 1930's. This is so widely observed and so totally inevitable that researchers call this The Fundamental Law Of Road Congestion. I guess you might have some really compelling argument why this universal law does not apply to Boston, but I doubt it.

The best we can do is hopefully get you a fast train that gets you where you need to go, because, yeah, driving sucks.